Little May - Hide / Little May - Boardwalks

I feel so haunted in your bed Is it me or is it her, that's in your head. And you found it, but you drowned it, and you washed it clean Feed me words while you had her between your sheets

Cause' we are not afraid of who we are but of what we have become, And we are not afraid of what's to be when this road has just begun, So we will turn our backs and close the doors for the last time,

The Coopers - "Summer's Child" (Free Download)

Rating: 7/10 Humble ears learn their lesson... from birds that sang all along Summer's Child just aches of dancing on the beach and driving along the sunset with lilting fingers strumming on chords. Sharp drums offset this track from the usual lullaby, and give it a near-ska vibe. This choral tune by The Coopers is best sung with friends.

Cœur de Pirate - "Hôtel Amour"

Rating: 6/10 But sleep, at least this night...And dream of the infinite Working recently to build the soundtracks to the game Child of Light and Canadian TV show Trauma, Cœur de Pirate echoes soulfully in her older work, Blonde. Check it out.

Arty - "Up All Night" (Nev Cover)

Rating: 5/10 There's an angel beside saying things just ain't right, but I'm no good at listening There's a really special feeling when you see someone take a great tune, skillfully cover it, and have a brilliant time doing so. This entire anthem bursts out as fun, especially when watching the dexterity of that hand-over-hand motion. You can see the original here.

Stromae - "Papaoutai"

Rating: 7/10 Sans même devoir lui parler....Il sait ce qui ne va pas. A son calls out to his absentee father, begging for understanding and interaction. Stromae captures this call beautifully in this electronic/piano studded piece with a driving beat and choral backing, not too mention the physical manifestation of an empty husk present in the accompanying video.

Coldplay - "Clocks" (Rogue Remix) + "Clocks" (Rhythms Del Mundo)

Rating: 7/10 Shoot an apple off my head... Taking this strong original rock song to the realm of dubstep, Rogue layers bleeping synths and speeds the up the beat for danceability. Crunchy synth sweeps take the true sound and merge it into a grooving drop.

Rating: 6/10 Confusion never stops... Closing walls and ticking clocks... This latin-inspired track is so smooth, and stays very close to the Coldplay original. Wooden knocks and Cabasa rolls make a funky backing to the horn jabs that punctuate this tune. Warning: may inspire salsa dancing.

All Time Low - "A Love Like War (feat. Vic Fuentes)"

Hearts on fire tonight Feel my bones ignite Love feels like war, war

Rating: 6/10

Here's a fairly well-known band with one of their most popular songs. If you don't know them,they are a pop-punk band from Baltimore, Maryland who make extremely catchy songs with more of a rock sound than some mainstream music. This particular song is from the September re-release of their most recent album, Don't Panic: It's Longer Now! and features Vic Fuentes, vocalist of the post-hardcore band Pierce the Veil. I'll admit, I am not a huge fan of All Time Low; I don't find main singer Alex Gaskarth's vocals all that gripping as they are not, in my opinion, so very unique. I do, however, enjoy Pierce the Veil to an extent and so I listened to this song mostly for Vic. Then I listened again. And again, and again. It is a song that gets stuck in your head and refuses to leave. From Jack Barakat's first guitar riff, to the fast, gunshot-like drums by Rian Dawson this song hooked me and I now I quite like it, not to mention how nicely Gaskarth and Fuentes' vocals go together. If you're a hardcore original punk and rock fan, there is nothing I can say to make you like this, but whether you are or not, check it out.

Exo - "MAMA"

Careless, careless Shoot anonymous, anonymous Heartless, mindless No one care about me

Rating: 8/10

Exo's 2012 debut single, MAMA, is a blend of several different genres, spanning pop, rock, and (surprisingly) screamo. Exo is a Chinese-South Korean boy band with two branches, one that performs in Korean, Exo-K, and another that performs in Mandarin, Exo-M. MAMA is about the general problems of the world, asking why people forsake love for war and hate. (If you want to see the English translation, here it is). The song itself has a classic, driving chord progression that brings up the original backing vocals in the chorus. All of Exo's members are talented singers and dancers, and this song beautifully showcases their talents. The music video is one of the most theatrical music videos I have ever seen, making Exo look like a team of dancing superhero demigods in a fantasy novel.

Marianas Trench - "So Soon"

But what if here and now I tell you that I'm all figured out? Or maybe I just like how that sounds

Rating: 6/10

Last night, on the twenty-first, the Canadian band played at Slim's in San Francisco. For the encore, lead singer Josh Ramsay came out and played an acoustic version of "So Soon". It was one of most emotional songs of the whole show because it is so easy to relate to and it was played so beautifully. It is the second to last track on their most recent album Ever After that was released in 2011. The entire album tells a story that Josh Ramsay wrote himself; a journey through a toy land, an evil queen Carolina, and the beautiful girl Porcelain. Because the album is meant to illustrate a tale, each song connects and flows directly into the next in a brilliant way. This track is one of the much more slow songs, but it is packed with so much feeling. The music behind it is simple, but magnificent matching the tone with Josh's fantastic voice. I wanted to do this song because seeing it live last night meant so much to me and two people close to me.

Hedley - "Invincible"

I found the strength inside to see found the better part of me and I'll never let it go

Rating: 6/10

Hedley is a pop-rock band from Vancouver, Canada. Like many bands, they started as a rock band (even classified as punk by some), but as time passed they produced much more of a generic pop sound. However, despite the change in style, their music is still original and the lyrics are still good and have more meaning than some of the popular music of today. Their album Storms came out in Canada on November 8, 2011 and has yet to be released outside their home country. Much of the album was inspired by the bassist Tom MacDonald's fight against cancer. The song "Invincible" in particular was also written about a time when front man Jacob Hoggard looked at his life and did not like what fame had turned him into. The song is incredibly beautiful and uplifting; I remember seeing it played live and acoustic was one of the best moments of my life.

Pet Shop Boys - "Axis (Boys Noize Remix)"

tonight...electric...turn it up...electric

Rating: 4/10

As far as repetitive pop goes, this pretty much takes the overfrosted cake. Drilling beeps and a kick snare pattern bring nothing to this song, but the low synth wobbles rumble enough to make you want to pump your fist. Pet Shop Boys transition to techno was a well-intentioned play, but it brings nothing new to the song. In short, mediocre, but alright if you just need a simple step track. Best of luck to their new album Electric, slanted to come out this July, but I can't say I'm all too excited.

Mali Music - "Ready Aim"

wanna make the lame man run again... make the blind man see the sun again

Rating: 5/10

To whet the taste buds of those looking forward to his new album (dropping 2014), Mali Music has released a powerful new track into cyberspace, and it's gaining quite the support. Stretching from his gospel origins, Mali preserves his message in a Pop style. A tad slow, this song is held up less by the (quite frankly dull) chorus, and more by the rolling low-mid synths, which keep you nodding as this track sets off.